Colombia Foreign Minister Resigns

Colombia’s foreign minister, Maria Consuelo Araújo Castro, resigned on Monday following mounting pressure to step down following the arrest of her brother, Senator Alvaro Araújo Castro, on charges of links to right-wing paramilitary groups and involvement in kidnapping. The minister’s father, Alvaro Araújo Noguera, a former provincial governor, is also under suspicion and may be investigated. President Alvaro Uribe has named Fernando Araújo Perdomo (no relation to the former foreign minister), recently freed after six years of captivity by the FARC, as her replacement. He had served as Development Minister under the administration of Andrés Pastrana.